Frugal February Challenge

After the craziness of school holidays, Christmas and back-to-school preparations, your wallet may be feeling empty and the budget rather tight. Plus for many people, February is when the majority of credit card bills are due for their Christmas and holiday spending.

Enter the Frugal February Challenge! As the shortest month of the year, February is a great time to perform a ‘financial fast’, reign in your spending, get the budget back on track and aim for those money goals you set for the year.

So how much could you save? By cutting back on your discretionary spending and adopting some (or all!) of our tips, could see those dollars piling up during Frugal February.

Food

Cut out takeaways for the entire month.

Meal plan, prep ahead and make your meals from scratch at home.

Become best friends with your slow cooker for those busy days, and keep a few frozen items like fish fillets and chips in the freezer for busy nights.

Fill your water bottle and make a coffee in a reusable coffee mug to curb impulse drink purchases when you are on-the-go.

Entertainment

Gather the family around for a movie night, or drag out the board games for some quality time with the kids.

Borrow books and magazines from the library instead of buying new ones to read.

Search for exercise videos on Youtube for a free workout!

Find activities and attractions in your local area that are free or low-cost to enjoy.

Cut down on alcohol consumption, or quit completely for the month.

Do It Yourself

Frugal February is a great time to fix things around the house, whether it’s a leaky tap or sewing a new button onto your favourite shirt.

If you use any professional services such as cleaning or lawn-mowing, reduce or cancel them for the month and do it yourself.

Youtube is a great resource for DIY videos! You may even end up learning a few new skills this month.

Find A Better Deal

Gather up all your current utility bills (phone, electricity) and subscription plans (such as Netflix), and ring around or Google to see if you can get a better deal, or even pause or cancel the plan for the month.

Get new quotes for your current insurances and compare them to your current policies to see if you can save.

What’s your mortgage interest rate? Have a look at the comparison rates available with other providers, then ring your bank to negotiate a rate cut, or find out what you could save by refinancing your home loan.

Got credit card debt and want to pay it off quicker? Consider transferring the balance to an interest-free or low-rate card to ditch the debt faster.